


When the Earth Went Quiet

by Dark_Ennis



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, M/M, New Avengers Vol. 3 (2013)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:36:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Ennis/pseuds/Dark_Ennis
Summary: Tony stands with Steve instead of letting them wipe his mind. But what will happen when Iron Man sides with Captain American instead of the Illuminati? And what will they do when those already pressing memories of the Civil War exponentially increase? Will Earth survive as the Illuminati desperately try to find a way out missing two of their six members? Will Winghead and Shellhead escape in time to warn both worlds of the dangers to come?An AU post New Avengers/Illuminati #3 during the incursions where Tony decided to side with Steve instead on the Illuminati.Works for "I Hate Magic" on my 2018 Stony Bingo Card.





	When the Earth Went Quiet

Tony watches as Steve wields the infinity gauntlet.

 

Tony watches as Steve pushes away the other Earth by channeling the sheer force of his will through the device.

 

Tony watches as the gems shatter one by one under Steve’s control.

 

Tony knows what will happen, what has to happen, as the first gem in the gauntlet shatters under the pure determination of Captain America’s willpower. He knows what will be done once they defeat this incursion but lose the gauntlet because he knows Steve will never agree to what _must_ be done to save their universe.

 

 

The Mind Gem shatters.

 

(Strength that had once been trusted only to the control of Professor Xavier; the Infinity Stone that granted the ability to move physical objects with a flicker of a thought; the gem that allowed the user to see into the mind of anyone at the user’s pleasure.)

 

It will be the first and worst thing they take from Steve. His memories will be trapped within one of Strange’s enchantments and Steve will continue to look at Tony like he’s never done anything wrong. Like he hadn’t pulled apart Steve’s life _twice_ in two years.

 

The Reality Gem shatters.

 

(Changeability once possessed by the In-Betweener; the ability to alter the laws of physics themselves; the possibility to resurrect the dead; the distortion of reality with the flick of one’s fingers.)

 

Reality will be warped with Steve’s mind. His understanding of what is true and how the world works will be warped for…ever? Years? Tony isn’t even sure if he’ll want Cap to remember but he knows he won’t be able to live with himself when he knows the lie he will need to tell every single day.

 

The Power Gem shatters.

 

(Force previously yielded by Thor himself; the gem exhibited the ability to direct all the power that exists in the universe through the wishes of the wielder’s fingertips.)

 

Power…strength…force…Steve will never lack those. Not because he’s an exceptionally powerful or destructive superhuman but more because with sheer force of his will, strength of character, and loyalty to everything good in the world he will have those to rally before them.

 

The Space Gem shatters.

 

(Distance meaning nothing to the many men, many Avengers, who have commanded this gem; a step might be one thousand light years and the expansion and contraction of the universe in a microsecond; teleportation was only the surface of this stone’s ability to manipulate reality.)

 

Steve will never remember his time with them but they won’t ever erase his entire life. Even the Illuminati aren’t _that_ callous. Are they? (Tony knows they are). The worst is not that where Steve is now will change but that it will stay the same. As if Tony won’t have sacrificed everything that matters about their friendship. Again.

 

The Time Gem…disappears.

 

(Time ticks away at the insistent clock next to all of them…it’s **_ZAP!_** Out of existence should be more significant to the group of the so-called smartest men in the universe but with more pressing matters at hand the mysterious disappearance of the Time Gem is ignored in favor of a new real-world solution.)

 

_Hmm…._

 

The Soul Gem shatters.

 

(Sentience is the most daunting attribute of any stone the Illuminati have encountered; the Soul Gem seeks to trap souls in its own, perfect world; to collect and contain souls; and to revert all life to its “natural state.”)

 

Soul…spirit. It’s a tricky, nebulous, unreliable thing, isn’t it? They won’t take Steve’s soul (not intentionally) but Tony has a terrifyingly nagging suspicion that he’s being too forgiving with his own…if he even has one left. Maybe it’ll be for the best, this mind wipe. Steve won’t have to bear the burden of potentially killing another Universe’s planet or his own by default. Steve isn’t…he shouldn’t have to make those kinds of decisions. Not that he isn’t smart enough—he is, Steve is too God damned smart for his own good—but the pressure and the weight it’s going to yield on his shoulders…Tony never wants him to feel that indecision, desperation, or bleakness. He ignores the heated conversation between Beast and Cap as he does his best to come up with some sort of response that keeps Steve’s memory whole and his soul unblemished and his body unrestrained…he continues to come up blank.

 

Tony considers all the other possibilities and suggestions he could make to his cohorts. But Steve locked in a box and knowing and hating them, hating him, doesn’t sound better than him not knowing at all. Steve missing means people will ask questions. Maybe there are other possibilities, other solutions to the incursions that he hasn’t considered yet. Because as it turns out, Tony’s only ever been a weapons maker with a home grown conscious and mountains of undeserved self-pity. It isn’t exactly a question of fairness but of logic. Is it Tony’s hubris that has been keeping him from identifying the true problem…not with Steve’s fastidious morality but perhaps with the extent of his own intelligence and abilities. There _could_ be another way. And it’s selfish but…if there isn’t? Tony can always leave Reed with the plans he’s already been drafting in his head. A Dyson sphere to power their weapon. And Reed and T’Challa already have the Black Swan prototype. Maybe…maybe he could save the world _and_ his newly repaired friendship with Steve. The rest of the illuminati didn’t need him once they had his plans, after all. And what are they going to do that he isn’t just going to end up going along with, anyway?

 

So, Tony lays out a plan of action. One made of unlikely hope and surrounded by repulsive fear. One that’s completely counter to anything he would come up with usually (minus the drawn up weapons plans) and that Steve himself would call shortsighted and idealistic. One that keeps Tony wondering if he’s not making the biggest mistake of his natural born life. At least that life won’t go on much longer if he’s wrong about this working. But the plan has fallbacks for its fallbacks and Tony knows that if he wants to do something good for once—good, and not right, because Tony has always thought the decisions he’s made are right—he’s got to go through with this.

 

Tony hears Namor growl something about Steve being an “incompetent fool” and tries too late to halt the full-frontal assault on Steve by scaly, merman fingers. Steve is the unhappy recipient of a broken nose and some fractured ribs before the rest of them can pull Namor off of him. Tony would punch the pretentious, thong-wearing mermaid out in half a second if he didn’t need to save the element of surprise for a more opportune moment.

 

If there’s something grating on him about not knowing _when_ or _if_ the end of the world is coming it’s completely eclipsed by the feeling that maybe, finally he’ll be doing the right thing by one of his oldest and closest friends.

 

Could it be that facing the end of the world won’t be half as bad together?

 

 

 **Necropolis** is a dark, deserted city. Steve wanders out of the middle of what will inevitably be his final meeting during a break in steadfast disagreement. Tony wonders if he knows. (He doesn’t). Tony wonders if Steve thinks he’s in on it, too. (He wouldn’t). Tony wonders if Steve will be proud when he stands with him. (He might).

 

He watches the tense muscles work under bulletproof chainmail and wrinkle where the armor and fabric meet his tactical belt. His arms cross in typical military posturing but soon fall back to his side again. He looks lost. Upset. His brow wrinkled in a frustration knows only comes from having an enemy that isn’t an enemy. A problem he can’t fight with fists or even moral aggrandizement. It’s the same furrowed brow and set jaw he settles into when they face the issue that is so forgiving and compassionate but equally so cruel and resolute.

 

Steve Rogers is looking into the eyes of fate and it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to blink first.

 

Tony knows he should say something or maybe even anything but he can’t bring himself to take those final eleven steps to speak to Steve man to man. He’s afraid he might give something away. He’s afraid he’s going to change his mind and acquiesce to this horrible mind wipe backup plan that Tony knows is inevitable no matter what he does. Even with his plan ready, already set in motion, Tony’s resolve wavers.

 

What if because of him, because of this choice he’s making, the entire world collides with another Earth and two planets die?

 

What if he doesn’t and he’s responsible for a genocide?

 

Tony wants to go out there, he really does, but seeing Steve so stoic, so sure, so strong gives him pause. Steve won’t even consider that kind of utilitarian means acceptable. Then Tony will be trapped and even with the execution of the plan, the means will always be questioned. _He_ will always be a tarnished figure in Steve’s mind. If he’s honest with himself isn’t that what this convoluted plot he’s devised has all been about? Being a better man in Steve’s eyes than Tony knows he truly is? _No,_ Tony knows that it’s more than that to him, too. He doesn’t want to see an entire other Earth killed. He doesn’t want another Steve, another Pepper, another Rhodey, another Avengers to die at his hands. By way of his weapons. And worse, in another universe he might be married to a still-living, still-faithful Ru. He could be having lunch with a grinning Happy. Hell, he could be a man who never designed, developed, built, and profited off of munitions that would end millions of lives. Even if there’s a chance that the other Earth’s version of himself is or possess a single one of those things means this self-sacrificial plot will be worth it.

 

Even if other-him isn’t and doesn’t have those things…standing there in the shadows with Reed’s eyes crawling up and down his back like roaches, Tony’s not sure _he_ can live to see that sort of…solution, either. He’s not sure pulling the trigger or even constructing the device is something he’s willing to survive. What sort of world will he come back to? Steve’s shoulders are carefully squared without being completely rigid and his eyes focused and hard in standoffish determination all before he even knows what he’s to face. The mien is all Army forbearance and tired prudence. Steve knows, maybe not exactly and not to what extent, but Steve knows that the coming meeting holds nothing good for the future of the Illuminati nor the future of the world. The looks is so familiar but Tony can’t place it, and he analyzes it more closely until he realizes:

 

It’s the same expression he wore when-when-when-when—

 

`Extremis has encountered a fatal system error and has been shut down to prevent damage to the system.`

 

`A neural process or biotechnical thread required for underlying biological system functionality unexpectedly hung or has been terminated to prevent total system reconstruction.`

 

`Extremis has isolated the indicated function or functions and will recalibrate once all potentially destructive errors have been located and patched. Extremis will execute all other expected functions at this time. All related Life Status functions affected will be run at minimal capacity and may be subject to immediate restoration of most current and unafflicted Extremis Disk Image available if continued access is attempted via either Direct User Override or External Command System Access.`

 

`WARNING: Error(s) found in location`

`/Extremis/AEStark/LTM/2006`

 

`The instruction at base memory address ‘0x00000934’. Data or file at referenced address could not be read and will be fragmented and stored until authorized external access is verified.`

 

`Error has been identified as encountered due to a fault in the system data resulting from fragmentation or incompatibility.`

 

`Extremis will restart imminently…`

 

Tony is aware of the system reboot but stores the information away for further investigation. Wouldn’t even think about it at all but for T’Challa suddenly standing outside next to Steve when he was next to Beast last Tony checked. It meant the reboot had been a long one. That the memory it was trying to access is extremely detailed and from that year long period Tony erased to keep Osborn out of the Superhuman Database.

 

Tony hears Steve say something about screaming at each other and pause. His short, tawny hair flutters slightly in an uncommon wind. After that, the air holds nothing but anticipation and rigidity. The stillness surrounding them is more than the typical unnerving atmosphere of Necropolis. It’s as if the city itself is holding its breath in anticipation. An interlude in time that should feel relaxing but exists only in suffocating, claustrophobic intensity that lesser men would become wildly irrational and panicked at. As it is, Tony himself is starting to feel shifty.

 

“…it’s peaceful out here,” Steve murmurs without taking his eyes away from the desolate city or inclining his head toward his visitor whatsoever. He’s always been good at creating a calm before the storm. Then, he says something else but Tony isn’t listening, is too busy trying to wrap himself in the comfort of Steve’s composure. Even if (or maybe when) all else goes to hell, Steve’s undying belief in purpose and divine direction can carry him when Tony cannot find it in himself to believe. It’s not much, but it’s all he has at the moment.

 

“…city populated by the spirits of noble warriors who never knew defeat. It’s _your_ kind of place.”

 

Tony silently agrees because Steve really is a warrior of old. He’s everything Tony dreamed about as a kid and more…Captain America is a man of ideals from a time where wrong was wrong and right was right. He’s the kind of guy who believes in and enforces his values no matter the circumstance, no matter the risk, no matter the price.

 

It would be perfect if it weren’t also so ignorantly stupid.

 

Maybe stupid is the wrong word. Steve is anything but. “Naïve,” Tony would say but that isn’t right either. Could it just be that being a genius really is a character defect? Because Tony’s pretty sure his life would be easier if he were lacking about eighty IQ points. He _knows_ the people they all fight to protect live simpler, easier blissful lives that he can never have. The kicker? He wouldn’t give up his smarts even now. Even after everything they’ve cost him. Because what is the contentment of one man compared to the safety of the world? Of the country? Of New York? Hell, of one single life?

 

“ **It’s _wrong._** ”

 

Steve says something else but all Tony can hear is the poisonous, dangerous lie sliding from T’Challa’s throat: “When have you ever known me to do the wrong thing?” But it’s garbage, it’s bullshit hid so poorly that even _Steve_ grimaces at the words. Or maybe that’s the noxious, death dusted air of the city of warriors playing distorting his vision.

 

 

 

Fuck if Steve doesn’t _apologize_.

 

Steve takes responsibility for breaking the gauntlet.

 

Steve tells them they’ve beat one incursion.

 

Steve tells them there is hope.

 

Then, Steve tells Dr. Strange that they can find a way to stop the next one despite their loss of the Infinity Gems.

 

Strange tells Steve he’s got a very articulate way of saying, “I hope.”

 

Tony can’t help but agree even knowing he’s siding with baseless optimism and most certainly the end of the world.

 

Steve declares that there is a _right_ and a _wrong_ way of doing things.

 

Steve asks T’Challa to back him up.

 

He hadn’t known.

 

T’Challa fucks Steve over.

 

Tony knew.

 

T’Challa says he’s not a man but a nation.

 

Steve calls on Black Bolt to help him.

 

Black Bolt doesn’t even dignify Steve with words.

 

Steve doesn’t even try to call on Namor.

 

Namor ridicules him and mocks his idealism, anyway.

 

Tony still wishes he didn’t need to save that element of surprise for later because Namor could do with a black eye and bloody nose.

 

Steve looks to Hank.

 

Hank reminds him of the mutant cause.

 

Tony thinks about the “mutant cause” on the other Earth.

 

Reed interrupts them. Tries to tell Steve that the rest of the Illuminati are struggling with this, as well. Accepts evil in the face of extinction so that his family might be safe. Reed’s argument is the most logical, the most sympathetic, and the most acceptable. It is, Tony knows full well, also the most abhorrent to Steve’s sense of right and wrong.

 

Steve refuses to yield.

 

“Slowly, one by one, you’ll convince yourselves.”

 

Fuck if Steve isn’t right. Tony almost did. Has, really, considering he’s leaving the plans for the Dyson Sphere for the rest of the Illuminati assuming things go the way Tony knows they’re about to tonight. They’re probably going to have to do it, anyway. They’ll have to build this bomb, protect their universe from the rest of the world. If they do end up needing to use Tony’s plans then he hopes he isn’t around to see it. He knows the build time. He’s set everything into motion so that it will begin at exactly the right moment. He’s programmed the device in their palms to alert the rest of the Illuminati to activate it if they need to. They won’t even know they can until the last minute.

 

“We’re doing this for the right reasons,” Steve mocks as his fist slams down on the table across from Tony.

 

“There’s no other choice,” he placates in saccharine sarcasm.

 

“It’s the _lesser_ of two evils...”

 

He still has his face shifted away from Tony. His expression is still readable, veneer hard and angry. He thinks…God, he thinks Tony is with them. Agrees with everyone else. Has weighed all the options and is about to turn away and use Steve as a sacrificial lamb. Again. And Tony almost _had_.

 

“Isn’t that right, **brother?** ”

 

Steve looks up at Tony directly then and Tony is struck so suddenly with that look of betrayal and fear and disappointment that whatever reservations about his secret, convoluted plan are discarded in an instant. He cannot leave Steve out to the dogs. He can’t…he can’t be the one to stand against him and deliver the final blow. Not again.s

 

Tony pauses a second too long and begins edging toward Steve even as he says,

 

“Dammit, Steve. Why do you always have to be this way?”

 

Even though his double-cross is only a ruse to block Steve from the entrapments of Strange’s magic, the hurt and foreboding on his best friend’s face still cuts into him like a blade made of steel.

 

“I’m sorry…” Tony breathes, “I’ll find some way to make this right.”

 

Tony’s final, definitive thought is that he wishes he’d gotten the chance to make himself into a better hero than he really is.

 

“What?” Steve asks.

 

He hadn’t been expecting Tony’s (admittedly falsified) betrayal, after all.

 

Tony walks across the room to stand next to Steve, nodding at the rest of the Illuminati as he does so, and is grateful that his previous request for a good-bye to his best friend hasn’t been revoked. He stands inches from Steve and grasps his shoulder even as Steve pulls away stubbornly. Tony lifts up the faceplate and hopes Steve is able to find earnestness in his eyes. He squeezes Steve’s shoulder and inclines his head, eyes full of determination. He never does learn if Steve gets it.

 

“Do it, Steven,” Tony grunts out finally.

 

At the last second, Tony takes a step inward to bear the brunt of the spell. For a second, he watches as Steve’s eyes go wide. Then, everything is lost to a haze of unconsciousness and pain.


End file.
